Daniel 2:24-43
“Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.” (Daniel 2:24-25)
Having sought and been granted time to pray for information about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel had prayed and his request granted. After thanking God, Daniel confidently went to the man in charge of executing the educated people of Babylon, and told him not to proceed with the execution because he knew the meaning of the dream. Arioch promptly reported Daniel’s statement to the king, stressing that he was one of the Jewish captives.
“The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.
Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.” (Daniel 2:26-30)
When Nebuchadnezzar queried him, Daniel was careful to explain that it was not possible for any man to know whether using ordinary human knowledge or some supposedly supernatural knowledge such as astrology, palm reading, consulting with the dead through a medium, or any other such secret art.
On the other hand, there is a God who does know the future, and sometimes reveals things to people. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was in fact such an event. That Daniel would be able to interpret the dream had nothing to do with Daniel’s ability, because he had no more special information than anyone else. Dreams are usually the result of our subconscious mind struggling with the things we have dealt with during the day. God was revealing some things about the future to Nebuchadnezzar in his dreams to help him clarify his own thoughts, and would use Daniel to interpret them for his sake and that of the others who had been involved in obtaining the interpretation.
“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.” (Daniel 2:31-36)
The scientists, historians, and Shamans had been sure that if they knew the dream, they could provide a plausible explanation that would satisfy Nebuchadnezzar. The problem was that he couldn’t remember the dream and they were afraid he would remember enough to know they were lying if they started making things up.
God had revealed the entire dream to Daniel. Undoubtedly, as Daniel described various details, Nebuchadnezzar remembered them vividly. That Daniel could know those details clearly implied he had inside information and was not just making up a plausible explanation.
“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.” (Daniel 2:37-38)
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar had seen a great statue made of various materials. The Head was made of gold and represented Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire. Because they gave their people a great deal of freedom , even allowing the various provinces to keep their individual customs and governments, other peoples sought to become part of the empire and enjoy the benefits it provided, as demonstrated by the birds and animals coming to him.
“And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” (Daniel 2:39-40)
The chest and arms of the statue were of silver and represented another empire that would be similar to the Babylonian Empire but less focused on the good of the people and more on the empire itself. Babylon would be conquered and replaced by the Persian Empire, under Cyrus the Great, about 539 BC. They were less considerate of other group’s customs, but still fairly forgiving.
About 359 BC, Philip of Macedon organized the Greek city states into an empire and by 331 BC, his son Alexander the Great had conquered all of the Persian Empire From Egypt to Babylon. He had invaded India and Central Asia, making Babylon his capital, when he died of a fever in 323 BC. After his death, the empire would be divided between Alexander’s generals. The Greek empire was represented by the brass belly and thighs of the statue. Under the Greek empire, groups of Greeks were relocated into each conquered area to promulgate Greek language and customs.
Rome had been founded in 753 BC, and the Roman Republic in 509 BC, about fifteen years after Cyrus the great took over the Persian Empire. Fighting between Alexander’s successors and the decline of the Greek Empire led to the Punic wars and finally to Rome defeating Hannibal at Carthage in 202 BC. This led to Rome establishing an Empire that included all of the old Persian and Greek Empire, the rest of northern Africa and most of Europe.
The Roman Empire had a strong Government that forcibly imposed Roman laws and customs on all their subjects. It was strong enough it continued in power until 475 AD. It was represented by the iron legs of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
“And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” (Daniel 2:41-43)
By 330 AD, Constantine had take control of most of the churches, forming the Catholic church and making Catholicism the official state religion, In 476 AD the Goths deposed the last Roman emperor, leading to a period of unrest, and about 800 AD, Charlemagne became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, an empire built on some of the old practices of the Roman empire but with serious divisions among them. About 1254 AD, it’s power would be largely lost, although the title of Emperor would continue to be used until 1806 AD by some of the Hapsburgs.
After the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire, nationalism resulted in the separation of the countries in separate entities, the toes, all of which retained the characteristics of the Holy Roman Empire.
This prophecy was given about 603 or 604 BC, and had been translated into Greek before the time of Christ. None of these things had happened when the prophecy was given. That it was so accurate in those past events implies that we should believe the part which has not yet happened.
“Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.” (Daniel 2:24-25)
Having sought and been granted time to pray for information about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel had prayed and his request granted. After thanking God, Daniel confidently went to the man in charge of executing the educated people of Babylon, and told him not to proceed with the execution because he knew the meaning of the dream. Arioch promptly reported Daniel’s statement to the king, stressing that he was one of the Jewish captives.
“The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.
Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.” (Daniel 2:26-30)
When Nebuchadnezzar queried him, Daniel was careful to explain that it was not possible for any man to know whether using ordinary human knowledge or some supposedly supernatural knowledge such as astrology, palm reading, consulting with the dead through a medium, or any other such secret art.
On the other hand, there is a God who does know the future, and sometimes reveals things to people. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was in fact such an event. That Daniel would be able to interpret the dream had nothing to do with Daniel’s ability, because he had no more special information than anyone else. Dreams are usually the result of our subconscious mind struggling with the things we have dealt with during the day. God was revealing some things about the future to Nebuchadnezzar in his dreams to help him clarify his own thoughts, and would use Daniel to interpret them for his sake and that of the others who had been involved in obtaining the interpretation.
“Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.” (Daniel 2:31-36)
The scientists, historians, and Shamans had been sure that if they knew the dream, they could provide a plausible explanation that would satisfy Nebuchadnezzar. The problem was that he couldn’t remember the dream and they were afraid he would remember enough to know they were lying if they started making things up.
God had revealed the entire dream to Daniel. Undoubtedly, as Daniel described various details, Nebuchadnezzar remembered them vividly. That Daniel could know those details clearly implied he had inside information and was not just making up a plausible explanation.
“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.” (Daniel 2:37-38)
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar had seen a great statue made of various materials. The Head was made of gold and represented Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire. Because they gave their people a great deal of freedom , even allowing the various provinces to keep their individual customs and governments, other peoples sought to become part of the empire and enjoy the benefits it provided, as demonstrated by the birds and animals coming to him.
“And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.” (Daniel 2:39-40)
The chest and arms of the statue were of silver and represented another empire that would be similar to the Babylonian Empire but less focused on the good of the people and more on the empire itself. Babylon would be conquered and replaced by the Persian Empire, under Cyrus the Great, about 539 BC. They were less considerate of other group’s customs, but still fairly forgiving.
About 359 BC, Philip of Macedon organized the Greek city states into an empire and by 331 BC, his son Alexander the Great had conquered all of the Persian Empire From Egypt to Babylon. He had invaded India and Central Asia, making Babylon his capital, when he died of a fever in 323 BC. After his death, the empire would be divided between Alexander’s generals. The Greek empire was represented by the brass belly and thighs of the statue. Under the Greek empire, groups of Greeks were relocated into each conquered area to promulgate Greek language and customs.
Rome had been founded in 753 BC, and the Roman Republic in 509 BC, about fifteen years after Cyrus the great took over the Persian Empire. Fighting between Alexander’s successors and the decline of the Greek Empire led to the Punic wars and finally to Rome defeating Hannibal at Carthage in 202 BC. This led to Rome establishing an Empire that included all of the old Persian and Greek Empire, the rest of northern Africa and most of Europe.
The Roman Empire had a strong Government that forcibly imposed Roman laws and customs on all their subjects. It was strong enough it continued in power until 475 AD. It was represented by the iron legs of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
“And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” (Daniel 2:41-43)
By 330 AD, Constantine had take control of most of the churches, forming the Catholic church and making Catholicism the official state religion, In 476 AD the Goths deposed the last Roman emperor, leading to a period of unrest, and about 800 AD, Charlemagne became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, an empire built on some of the old practices of the Roman empire but with serious divisions among them. About 1254 AD, it’s power would be largely lost, although the title of Emperor would continue to be used until 1806 AD by some of the Hapsburgs.
After the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire, nationalism resulted in the separation of the countries in separate entities, the toes, all of which retained the characteristics of the Holy Roman Empire.
This prophecy was given about 603 or 604 BC, and had been translated into Greek before the time of Christ. None of these things had happened when the prophecy was given. That it was so accurate in those past events implies that we should believe the part which has not yet happened.
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